CONSONANTS
C always has the value of k, never of s; thus Celeborn is 'Keleborn', not 'Seleborn'. In a few cases, as Tulkas, Kementári a k has been used in the spelling in this book.
CH always has the value of ch in Scotch loch or german buch, never that of ch in English church. Examples are Carcharoth, Erchamion.
DH is always used to represent the sound of a voiced ('soft') th in English, that is the th in then, not the th in thin. Examples are Maedhros, Aredhel, Haudh-en-Arwen.
G always has the sound of English g in get; rhus Region, Eregion are not pronounced like English region, and the first syllable of Ginglith is as in English begin, not as in gin.
Consonants written twice are pronounced long; thus Yavanna has the long n heard in English unnamed, penknife, not the short n in unaimed, penny.
VOWELS
AI has the sound of English eye; thus the second syllable of Edain is like English dine, not Dane.
AU has the value of English ow in town; this the first syllable of Aulë is like English owl, and the first syllable of Sauron is like English sour, not sore.
EI as in Teiglin has the sound of English grey.
IE should no be pronounced as in English piece, but with both the vowels i and e sounded, and
run together; thus Ni-enna, no 'Neena'.
UI as in Uinen has the sound of English ruin.
AE as in Aegnor, Nirnaeth, and OE as in Noegyth, Loeg, are combinations of the individual vowels, a-e, o-e, but ae may be pronounced in the same way as ai, and oe as in English toy.
EA and EO are not run together, but constitute two syllables; these combinations are written ëa and ëo (or, when they begin names, Eä and Eö: Eärendil, Eönwë).
Ú in names like Húrin, Túrin, Túna should be pronounced oo; thus 'Toorin', not 'Tyoorin'.
ER, IR, UR before a consonant (as in Nerdanel, Cirdan, Gurthang) or at the end of a word (as in Ainur) should not be pronounced as in English fern, fir, fur but as in English air, eer, oor.
E at the end of words is always pronounced as a distinct vowel, and in this position is written ë. It is likewise always pronounced in the middle of words like Celeborn, Menegroth.
A circumflex accent in stressed monosyllables in Sindarin denotes the particularly long vowel heard in such words (thus Hîn, Húrin); but in Adúnaic (Númenórean) and Khuzdul (Dwarvish) names the circumflex is simply used to denote long vowels.
Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the above text. It is taken from the appendix of The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
